Me and some fellow TBHers got drawn for an Axis deer hunt for three days in mid January. Wondering if anyone has hunted out there, curious to know what to expect. Any tips or suggestions for a garner newbie.

i camp there 2 times a year for past 12 years or so i can tell you there are some big big axis there. im not sure how the hunts work because the deer at garner are pretty used to people being around. you cant pet them but we had a big axis come up to our camp to at least 20yrds while we were having breakfast.

My dad and his buddy put in and got drawn a couple years ago. They said they would never go back. His buddy shot an axis, but overall they werent impressed with the "expericence"......if you will. LOL.

One instance I remember them telling me was the park had one of their "snow bird" campers ferrying people around to blinds in the back of a pickup.

I hunted there once, but wont do it again. They will take you to your blind(blind is a loose term). You have shooting lanes cause there is other folks close by shooting in a different direction. they will drive by at set intervals. You catch a ride or stay out till the next run.
If you shoot something and it runs off...can not track it. Gotta wait till they come get you. Gut the deer at the makeshift cleaning area full of wood chips. After the hunt they scrape it all up and leave no trace of the hunters. I may have a picture of their blind set up if you would like.

I hunted there once, but wont do it again. They will take you to your blind(blind is a loose term). You have shooting lanes cause there is other folks close by shooting in a different direction. they will drive by at set intervals. You catch a ride or stay out till the next run.
If you shoot something and it runs off...can not track it. Gotta wait till they come get you. Gut the deer at the makeshift cleaning area full of wood chips. After the hunt they scrape it all up and leave no trace of the hunters. I may have a picture of their blind set up if you would like.

My son won the youth axis hunt a couple of years ago and was Super excited. I have nothing but great things to say about the TPWD public hunt program when people ask and I frequently email TPWD after hunts to let them know what a great program they have. I have been on over 15 youth/adult public hunts in the last 14 years and have enjoyed them immensely, met some great people and been treated to a great experience by TPWD staff. I truly appreciate the time and sacrifice the park staff endures and I love the opportunity to hunt different parts of the staff and IF LUCKY, manage to harvest something.

BUT if I was ranking all the hunts, the Garner hunt would be at the very bottom. Pretty sad because this is an awesome opportunity for some people to harvest their first (and only) exotic. Just a quick summary. The orientation started with the Park Superintendent telling us how HIS park is the highest revenue-grossing park in the state and that they LOSE a lot of money holding these public hunts. Next he spent some time talking about having to use funds to purchase new pop up stands and shooting platforms. Then he mentioned how his "volunteers" are limited to the number of hours they can work and that this hunt cut into projects they could be helping on. Also we were originally told since it was a weekend hunt only, we would be able to hunt Saturday afternoon and ALL day Sunday. Unfortunately during orientation we were told they were ending the hunt on Sunday at noon so they could be ready for visitors first thing Monday morning.

Then the hunt began and we were loaded in a truck and driven to our stands. We actually drew a very desirable stand near the entrance road where I had seen a lot of axis in the past. Well, we are walked to our blind and shown 2 trees directly in front of the stand with flagging tape on them. Told we could ONLY shoot between those 2 trees. I understood the reasoning but they basically gave us about a 35 degree window to shoot through. Of course, my son and I saw about a dozen different axis (some within 40 yds) but naturally, none went through our shooting window even though we threw out corn and chaffee (sp?) hay. I believe only 1 axis was harvested that hunt.

Don't mean to put a "downer" on your upcoming hunt. The park is loaded with axis and you may be successful. It is a beautiful park and I got to spend a weekend with my teenage son (which is huge) but the experience was much different than what I usually experience on TPWD hunts. It's funny because last year I hunted at Inks Lake and the Superintendent asked me if I had hunted anywhere else and I mentioned Garner. He made a funny face, mentioned the Park Supers name and wondered how my "experience" was there. I guess word gets around

My son won the youth axis hunt a couple of years ago and was Super excited. I have nothing but great things to say about the TPWD public hunt program when people ask and I frequently email TPWD after hunts to let them know what a great program they have. I have been on over 15 youth/adult public hunts in the last 14 years and have enjoyed them immensely, met some great people and been treated to a great experience by TPWD staff. I truly appreciate the time and sacrifice the park staff endures and I love the opportunity to hunt different parts of the staff and IF LUCKY, manage to harvest something.

BUT if I was ranking all the hunts, the Garner hunt would be at the very bottom. Pretty sad because this is an awesome opportunity for some people to harvest their first (and only) exotic. Just a quick summary. The orientation started with the Park Superintendent telling us how HIS park is the highest revenue-grossing park in the state and that they LOSE a lot of money holding these public hunts. Next he spent some time talking about having to use funds to purchase new pop up stands and shooting platforms. Then he mentioned how his "volunteers" are limited to the number of hours they can work and that this hunt cut into projects they could be helping on. Also we were originally told since it was a weekend hunt only, we would be able to hunt Saturday afternoon and ALL day Sunday. Unfortunately during orientation we were told they were ending the hunt on Sunday at noon so they could be ready for visitors first thing Monday morning.

Then the hunt began and we were loaded in a truck and driven to our stands. We actually drew a very desirable stand near the entrance road where I had seen a lot of axis in the past. Well, we are walked to our blind and shown 2 trees directly in front of the stand with flagging tape on them. Told we could ONLY shoot between those 2 trees. I understood the reasoning but they basically gave us about a 35 degree window to shoot through. Of course, my son and I saw about a dozen different axis (some within 40 yds) but naturally, none went through our shooting window even though we threw out corn and chaffee (sp?) hay. I believe only 1 axis was harvested that hunt.

Don't mean to put a "downer" on your upcoming hunt. The park is loaded with axis and you may be successful. It is a beautiful park and I got to spend a weekend with my teenage son (which is huge) but the experience was much different than what I usually experience on TPWD hunts. It's funny because last year I hunted at Inks Lake and the Superintendent asked me if I had hunted anywhere else and I mentioned Garner. He made a funny face, mentioned the Park Supers name and wondered how my "experience" was there. I guess word gets around

Best of luck and hopefully your experience is better.

Wow, that's crazy. I went on a hunt at Enchanted Rock and it was great, the staff was awsome.

Wow, that's crazy. I went on a hunt at Enchanted Rock and it was great, the staff was awsome.

Ungawa, I've been on a bunch of Public Hunts over the years and every one was outstanding. This was the only hunt where the staff seemed a little more interested in park revenues and less about hunter satisfaction. Almost got the feeling we were an "inconvenience". I've been on 3 youth hunts this year with my boys and they were great. Great staff, had 2 of the hunts where they even cooked lunch for the kids.

My son won the youth axis hunt a couple of years ago and was Super excited. I have nothing but great things to say about the TPWD public hunt program when people ask and I frequently email TPWD after hunts to let them know what a great program they have. I have been on over 15 youth/adult public hunts in the last 14 years and have enjoyed them immensely, met some great people and been treated to a great experience by TPWD staff. I truly appreciate the time and sacrifice the park staff endures and I love the opportunity to hunt different parts of the staff and IF LUCKY, manage to harvest something.

BUT if I was ranking all the hunts, the Garner hunt would be at the very bottom. Pretty sad because this is an awesome opportunity for some people to harvest their first (and only) exotic. Just a quick summary. The orientation started with the Park Superintendent telling us how HIS park is the highest revenue-grossing park in the state and that they LOSE a lot of money holding these public hunts. Next he spent some time talking about having to use funds to purchase new pop up stands and shooting platforms. Then he mentioned how his "volunteers" are limited to the number of hours they can work and that this hunt cut into projects they could be helping on. Also we were originally told since it was a weekend hunt only, we would be able to hunt Saturday afternoon and ALL day Sunday. Unfortunately during orientation we were told they were ending the hunt on Sunday at noon so they could be ready for visitors first thing Monday morning.

Then the hunt began and we were loaded in a truck and driven to our stands. We actually drew a very desirable stand near the entrance road where I had seen a lot of axis in the past. Well, we are walked to our blind and shown 2 trees directly in front of the stand with flagging tape on them. Told we could ONLY shoot between those 2 trees. I understood the reasoning but they basically gave us about a 35 degree window to shoot through. Of course, my son and I saw about a dozen different axis (some within 40 yds) but naturally, none went through our shooting window even though we threw out corn and chaffee (sp?) hay. I believe only 1 axis was harvested that hunt.

Don't mean to put a "downer" on your upcoming hunt. The park is loaded with axis and you may be successful. It is a beautiful park and I got to spend a weekend with my teenage son (which is huge) but the experience was much different than what I usually experience on TPWD hunts. It's funny because last year I hunted at Inks Lake and the Superintendent asked me if I had hunted anywhere else and I mentioned Garner. He made a funny face, mentioned the Park Supers name and wondered how my "experience" was there. I guess word gets around

My son won the youth axis hunt a couple of years ago and was Super excited. I have nothing but great things to say about the TPWD public hunt program when people ask and I frequently email TPWD after hunts to let them know what a great program they have. I have been on over 15 youth/adult public hunts in the last 14 years and have enjoyed them immensely, met some great people and been treated to a great experience by TPWD staff. I truly appreciate the time and sacrifice the park staff endures and I love the opportunity to hunt different parts of the staff and IF LUCKY, manage to harvest something.

BUT if I was ranking all the hunts, the Garner hunt would be at the very bottom. Pretty sad because this is an awesome opportunity for some people to harvest their first (and only) exotic. Just a quick summary. The orientation started with the Park Superintendent telling us how HIS park is the highest revenue-grossing park in the state and that they LOSE a lot of money holding these public hunts. Next he spent some time talking about having to use funds to purchase new pop up stands and shooting platforms. Then he mentioned how his "volunteers" are limited to the number of hours they can work and that this hunt cut into projects they could be helping on. Also we were originally told since it was a weekend hunt only, we would be able to hunt Saturday afternoon and ALL day Sunday. Unfortunately during orientation we were told they were ending the hunt on Sunday at noon so they could be ready for visitors first thing Monday morning.

Then the hunt began and we were loaded in a truck and driven to our stands. We actually drew a very desirable stand near the entrance road where I had seen a lot of axis in the past. Well, we are walked to our blind and shown 2 trees directly in front of the stand with flagging tape on them. Told we could ONLY shoot between those 2 trees. I understood the reasoning but they basically gave us about a 35 degree window to shoot through. Of course, my son and I saw about a dozen different axis (some within 40 yds) but naturally, none went through our shooting window even though we threw out corn and chaffee (sp?) hay. I believe only 1 axis was harvested that hunt.

Don't mean to put a "downer" on your upcoming hunt. The park is loaded with axis and you may be successful. It is a beautiful park and I got to spend a weekend with my teenage son (which is huge) but the experience was much different than what I usually experience on TPWD hunts. It's funny because last year I hunted at Inks Lake and the Superintendent asked me if I had hunted anywhere else and I mentioned Garner. He made a funny face, mentioned the Park Supers name and wondered how my "experience" was there. I guess word gets around

Best of luck and hopefully your experience is better.

There has got to be a way to call that in. I wouldn't let that **** poor treatment slide, it is their job to ensure all visitors to the park enjoy their stay.

There has got to be a way to call that in. I wouldn't let that **** poor treatment slide, it is their job to ensure all visitors to the park enjoy their stay.

I certainly agree that if there are major issues I would voice my concern to TPWD because at the end of the day tax money and the purchase of license and such funds this and everyone should get to enjoy it. I will attend the hunt and write up a report on how it goes.

There has got to be a way to call that in. I wouldn't let that **** poor treatment slide, it is their job to ensure all visitors to the park enjoy their stay.

First off, I don't want you to think we had a TERRIBLE experience. It was just much different than we experienced on other TPWD hunts. Axis are plentiful and they try to group the stands in the areas where they hang out. In doing so, they limit your shooting areas/options. Also had a great weekend in the stand with my teenager. I understand it is their park and their rules so I am thankful for the opportunity.

I did send an email to the TPWD Public Hunt program after this hunt. Was very PC but did mention the fact that it seemed like the Superintendent was NOT real excited about holding the hunts at his park. A little disheartening especially for the kids to hear. Maybe things have changed a little in the last 2 years.

I think this overall program is awesome and generally share that opinion with TPWD after each hunt we've been drawn for. My FIL lives in Illinois around Chicago and the County pays a sharpshooter ($100K) to cull deer from the county preserve lands. The local bowhunting groups are frustrated but the county won't budge because of perceived liability and "cruelty" issues. Glad I live in Texas where they let ethical hunters do the management for them. I truly hope they continue to keep this as a successful and affordable option for Texas hunters. I am on a deer lease but love "playing the lottery" every year to see if myself or kids can get drawn to hunt different parts of the state.

Muzzy, hope you knock em down on this hunt!!!! That park is covered up in them.

Well me and my son got back from hunting Garner. We had a great time! We stayed in the park in a screened in shelter. It had a picnic table and fire ring at every campsite. (bring firewood if you want a fire) They have a bathroom and shower facility in between all the campsites. It is different from any of the hunts we have been on. The park staff do load you up in trucks and take you to your assigned blind ( which are popup blinds so bring some shooting sticks and a different chair if you want). They have put out corn feeders at every blind this year which is the first time for this. Bring some alfalfa hay to keep the Axis around a little longer because they clean out the feeders quick. This was a Whitetail and Axis hunt but really wanted you just to shoot the Axis because the Whitetail numbers are low.( I'm guessing do to the Axis running them out). We only saw four Whitetail the whole time we were there. My son ended up taking 5 axis on the hunt 4 doe and 1 spike. That being said he could have shot many more if we had freezer space! All in all it was a successful hunt with a lot of memories that me and my son will never forget! If anyone has any questions just ask me and i will try and answer them.

Well me and my son got back from hunting Garner. We had a great time! We stayed in the park in a screened in shelter. It had a picnic table and fire ring at every campsite. (bring firewood if you want a fire) They have a bathroom and shower facility in between all the campsites. It is different from any of the hunts we have been on. The park staff do load you up in trucks and take you to your assigned blind ( which are popup blinds so bring some shooting sticks and a different chair if you want). They have put out corn feeders at every blind this year which is the first time for this. Bring some alfalfa hay to keep the Axis around a little longer because they clean out the feeders quick. This was a Whitetail and Axis hunt but really wanted you just to shoot the Axis because the Whitetail numbers are low.( I'm guessing do to the Axis running them out). We only saw four Whitetail the whole time we were there. My son ended up taking 5 axis on the hunt 4 doe and 1 spike. That being said he could have shot many more if we had freezer space! All in all it was a successful hunt with a lot of memories that me and my son will never forget! If anyone has any questions just ask me and i will try and answer them.

Thats awesome!! Sounds like you on the boy had a blast, glad to hear!!

Is there a place in the area to get alfalfa or do you need to bring it along with you?

Can't remember the name but there is a feed store in Leakey that has it. On the south side of town right as you get to town. On west side of road. When we hunted there, the staff recommended the "chaff" hay which has molasses. SAid they axis really like that.

Can't remember the name but there is a feed store in Leakey that has it. On the south side of town right as you get to town. On west side of road. When we hunted there, the staff recommended the "chaff" hay which has molasses. SAid they axis really like that.

Well me and my son got back from hunting Garner. We had a great time! We stayed in the park in a screened in shelter. It had a picnic table and fire ring at every campsite. (bring firewood if you want a fire) They have a bathroom and shower facility in between all the campsites. It is different from any of the hunts we have been on. The park staff do load you up in trucks and take you to your assigned blind ( which are popup blinds so bring some shooting sticks and a different chair if you want). They have put out corn feeders at every blind this year which is the first time for this. Bring some alfalfa hay to keep the Axis around a little longer because they clean out the feeders quick. This was a Whitetail and Axis hunt but really wanted you just to shoot the Axis because the Whitetail numbers are low.( I'm guessing do to the Axis running them out). We only saw four Whitetail the whole time we were there. My son ended up taking 5 axis on the hunt 4 doe and 1 spike. That being said he could have shot many more if we had freezer space! All in all it was a successful hunt with a lot of memories that me and my son will never forget! If anyone has any questions just ask me and i will try and answer them.

We are here sitting in the blinds now ill post up how it's going. So far orientation was clear they are only doing the hunts because they have to dosnt seem like the staff is to thrilled to put on the hunt. With that being said the view is awesome and I am out with a good group of friends so I am having a good time. As others have stated you draw blinds and are taken to them you must stay in your blind and shoot only within preset shooting lanes. I can see and shoot out of three sides front being at 66 yds, immediate right being a max of 200 and to the left being max of 300. More updates to follow.